Heretofore, fatigue-to-failure testers have been commonly known in industries dealing with elastomeric compounds. Typically, a plurality of elastomeric specimens are placed in such a tester and repeatedly flexed at a selected rate and amplitude until the specimens fail. The number of flexures endured assist in defining important characteristics of the elastomeric material. In known testers, a plurality of test sites or stations are provided, each receiving an elastomeric specimen and cycled in unison. Electromechanical counters are typically associated with each station to count the number of flexure cycles endured prior to failure. The electromechanical counters are so positioned as to be activated by the flexure force. They introduce an additional deflection which must be accounted for in the calibration of the tester and which may lead to mechanical failure of the fixturing.
It is also known that the electromechanical counters of the prior art are subject to mechanical failure and themselves have a finite life expectancy. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a strain-life or a fatigue-to-failure tester in which the sensing and counting mechanism is not prone to mechanical breakage or inoperativeness.